With such a late start, and so little daylight in Dublin, we quickly readied ourselves and caught the tram to the City Centre. We arrived on O'Connell Street, the heart of Dublin and set out exploring the various sites that we wanted to see.
We began at the General Post Office (GPO). It is a stately building that was completely bombed out in the Easter Rising of 1916 leaving only a shell of the building it once was. It was almost immediately rebuilt and is still used today as a Post Office for the city. Here it is in 1916:
Our second stop was the Saint Mary's Pro Cathedral, only a few blocks away, down an alley. It was the location of Michael Collins funeral in 1922. Here is a picture of that event:
Kristy and I walked to the church and up the stairs to its ground level. We entered the church and immediately felt the history of the building as it glowed from little more than the hundreds of prayer candles. We both lit one and made a donation before snapping some pictures and walking out the side door. The priest stood by and wished us "Cheers" as we walked out.Out in the courtyard, we noticed some others milling about in the front of the church. We wandered over to the front and Kristy took some pictures along the way. As we came to the front of the church, it struck me that the iron gate was chained shut, but seeing as the side gate we had entered was not, I thought little of it. Across the street was an interesting building that we wanted to know more about, but could not find in any of our guidebooks. After spending a few minutes in front of the church, we decided to head off to see other sites in Dublin.
Kristy and I walked back through the courtyard to the gate we had come through, although now it was different- closed and locked with a large padlock! Interesting, but no need to panic as the priest must be in the church. We knocked on the door for a few minutes, but to no avail. We began looking around for another exit, but found none that were not locked. There was no way out. We were surrounded by a tall, spiky wrought iron fence.
After a few minutes of increased panic, a nice Irish couple stopped next to the fence and asked us how we got in the courtyard. We explained our predicament and they offered their assistance. They guided us to a planter that made the climb over the iron fence more manageable. I climbed over and Kristy, in her skirt and all, followed. She slowly lowered herself over the fence while mis-answering the Irish woman's question with "We are married." To which she had a giggle and stated that she had not said anything of the sort. The Irish man and I helped Kristy get down and keep her balance. We were safe again after that saga, and it was still only early afternoon. We could hardly wait for whatever adventures we would encounter during the many remaining hours in the day.
*** Michael Collins Information:
For anyone interested, Michael Collins was one of the leaders of the Irish Resistance against the British in the early 20th Century. He created the IRA and developed modern guerrilla warfare tactics. Many credit him with finally getting Britain to give the Irish Independence, not as a Republic but as a "Free State." However, more extreme Irish citizens were displeased with the terms he was able to negotiate (not a republic, forced pledges of allegiance to the English Crown, and the separation of Northern Ireland). Eventually he was assassinated by extreme members of the IRA. For more detailed information go here. Otherwise, like I told Kristy, he is sort of like an Irish George Washington/Abraham Lincoln.
I write this because some of the sites we explored, especially in County Cork, involved Michael Collins. Here is a picture:
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